Zion's Voice

Torah Portion for 24th May - 30th May

Torah portion        Numbers 4:21 to 7:89

Haftarah portion   Judges 13:2-25 

“Naso”

Be blessed, and be a blessing

There are again, several lessons to be learned from the reading of these passages of Scripture. Each person who reads diligently may receive from the Lord a specific personal revelation. That is the wonder of the Scriptures.

However, the standout lesson, for me, is the declaration of the Priestly Blessing. What has become known as “The Aaronic Blessing” because to him was given the privilege of being the first to utter these words of blessing to the congregation of the people.

In the days of the Tabernacle, and the times when the Temple stood in Jerusalem, it was the specific task of the “Cohen Gadol” the High Priest to make this blessing for the people.

Most modern Bible translators have somewhat generalized the words of blessing, as in “May the Lord Bless you” or just “The Lord Bless you”. And that is mostly how those words are used in our congregations today.

However, Rev. William J Morford, in his excellent glossary to the “One New Man Bible”  agrees with the “Ancient Hebrew Research Centre” that the original blessing was to be of a much more positive pronouncement. Firstly, the person making the pronouncement was to stand before the people with hands raised, and then to speak the words with assured authority. The blessing was to be spoken in Hebrew.

The Blessing is comprised of just FIFTEEN Hebrew words, full of rich meaning, but impossible to translate into English with such economy of language.

Be blessed as you contemplate and meditate on the completeness of this blessing, as translated by Rev. Morford, and by the “Ancient Hebrew Research Centre”. BUT, also carefully consider the context of this instruction of God to Moses. This blessing was being proclaimed to a people who did not know where they were, did not know where they were going, and had left everything that was familiar to them. This was God’s ‘blessed assurance” (a declaration, not a prayer) that He cared for them and would protect them from all they might have had fear of. The “Ancient Hebrew” translation may look a bit presumptuous today, but to the children of Israel in the wilderness in the second year of their journey to the ‘promised land’ it would have been immeasurably reassuring, spoken, as it was, by the Cohen Gadol, Aaron, a man who had performed miracles, commanded by God, in their sight.

Remember what He said in Malachi 3:6 ??    Look it up!!

     The Priestly Blessing     Numbers 6 : 24-26

                Yivarechecha   Adonai   viyishmirecha

                Ya’er   Adonai   panav   elecha   veechunera

          Yeesa   Adonai   panav   elecha   viyasem   lecha   shalom

Rev. William J Morford tranlation

The Lord will bless you and He will keep you

The Lord will make His face to shine upon you

And He will be gracious to you

The Lord will lift His Countenance to you

And He will establish your shalom.

Ancient Hebrew Research Centre translation

 YHWH will kneel before you presenting gifts, and

 will guard you with a hedge of protection.

 YHWH will illuminate the wholeness of His being

 to you,  bringing order, and He will beautify you.

 YHWH will lift up the wholeness of His being

  and look upon you, and He will set in place all

  you need to be whole and complete.

Shabbat Shalom

RS

Torah Portion for 17th May - 23rd May

Torah Portion         -   Numbers 1:1 to 4:23

Haftarah Portion   -    Hosea 2:1 -22

“Bamidbar”

Special to God

This is one of those passages which is easily skipped because there seems to be little to learn .. unless you are a statistician !!

Interestingly, after the detail of the commandments and instructions for various matters given in Leviticus, we now return to the chronological history of the Israelites. (did you know that of the 39 books in the Hebrew Scriptures, you need read only ELEVEN to get the whole of the chronology of their history from Abraham to about 400 years before Yeshua arrived on this earth)**

We are “In the Widerness” in the second year of the ‘journeying’s’ following the exodus from Egypt,, the tabernacle has been built and is functioning BUT according to the count of the men who are ‘able to go to war’ and boys, from one month old to 20 years, there must have been close to 2 million people there by this time. Organising a crowd of that size is difficult and complex. That is what part of this passage is about. The detail is there for anyone who wants to read it.

During this operational task of taking the census, we are told that each of the family groups were identified and numbered. Each individual was noted, and earmarked for a task to be accomplished in the LORD’s service. The precision of the numbering and the importance of each one was identified.

This is even more notable in the numbering of the Levites. Those specially assigned to duties associated with the Tabernacle.

Picture the scene if you can. When the Tabernacle was moved from one place to another at God’s direction, they would ‘break camp’ in an orderly manner. First the tribes of Judah, Issachar and Zebulun, then the tribes of Reuben, Simeon and Gad, 337,800 men plus all their wives and children. Next the 22,000 Levites carrying the Tabernacle and its furnishings. Last, the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh and Benjamin, with the tribes of Dan, Asher and Napthali, 265,700 men plus all their wives and children.

Go on, TRY to imagine it !!!  It’s amazing.

And if you think the terrain was easy to walk, plan a visit to Jordan and Israel .. and marvel. Those folk were fed EVERY DAY, they had water EVERY DAY, their sandals did not wear out. (but they grumbled about it).

What a mighty God we serve.

There is so much more to be learned from this seemingly boring list of numbers. And finally, remember this. Almighty God tells us:

“I am the LORD, I do not change” Malachi 3:6

In Deuteronomy 28:18 He described them as His special people. And in Titus 2:14 He describes US as His special people. He knows us by name, ALL of us.

So praise Him.

“O Lord, our Lord, How excellent is Your Name in all the earth” Psalm 8

Shabbat Shalom

RS

** For those interested, the ELEVEN books of the Hebrew Scriptures are:-

Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Joshua, Judges, the 4 books of Kings, Ezra and Nehemiah (The last two being ONE combined book in the Hebrew Scriptures)

Torah Portion for 10th May - 16th May

Torah portion -  Leviticus 25:1 to 27:34

Haftarah portion -  Jeremiah 16:19 to 17:14

‘Behar’     (On Mount Sinai)

The main topic beginning this week’s portion is the Year of Jubilee.

This is a relatively simple concept, given to Moses on Mt. Sinai, for the restitution of land back to its original ‘owner’. But it has proven to be an exceptionally difficult matter to practise.

In Hebrew, a “shemittah year” occurs every seventh year. 2015 is such a year. The land is allowed to rest. It is effectively a Sabbath rest for the land. God made provision for the farmer by multiplying the harvest of the sixth year so they had food enough for the ‘resting’ year.

After seven such “shemittah” years”, come the “yovel” in Hebrew. The year of Jubilee. In effect a Sabbath of Sabbaths for the land. More than that, it is a year of release for the land. It is returned to its original ‘owner’. Slaves are permanently released (In Hebrew there are two words for ‘liberty’. They are “hafesh” and “d’ror”. In Leviticus 25:10 it is the “d’ror” that is used. It means permanence, completeness. The word “hafesh” has a temporary characteristic in its meaning) from slavery. Monetary debts are forgiven. It is a year of social justice for Israel. No-one is allowed to retain wealth obtained by land speculation in the previous 50 years etc.

In practice, however, the Rabbi’s determined that, according to the Talmud, this law of Jubilee only applied as long as the entire land of Israel was occupied by the Israelites! So when a portion of the tribes went into exile, that law elapsed. In fact it is doubtful that the law of Jubilee has ever been properly observed.

This lack of observance of both “yovel” and “shemittah” caused both Ezekiel and Jeremiah to predict terrible destruction in the land. This is evident from reading of the Haftarah portion this week.

So that provides a background.

Let us now see an interesting link to Messiah Yeshua in this Torah portion. It comes in the matter of “d’ror” liberty …  permanent liberty.

In Isaiah 61:1 we have a Messianic proclamation.

In Luke 4:14-21 we have Yeshua confirming that He is the One to whom Isaiah was referring.

The word used for liberty in Isaiah 1 is the same “d’ror” that was intended to be practised in the “yovel” (Jubilee Year). The Israelites missed substantial blessing when they neglected the observance of “yovel” and “shemittah” .

Almighty God, Father of Yeshua Ha’Mashiach, in His love, mercy and grace sent His only Son, Yeshua, to proclaim and provide the liberty which God wants His people to enjoy. Let us pray that as this Torah portion is read in Synagogues this week, there will be blessing beyond our imagination as people contemplate the message of “yovel”.

In the Gaza war of 2014, a kibbutz on the border with Gaza, had harvested the land early in trying to get an extra crop in before the commencement of the “shemittah”. In the normal course that land would have remained a metre high with a wheat crop. Hamas had planned a grotesque attack on that kibbutz on Rosh Hashanna 2014 by emerging from their tunnel in the middle of that field, which they expected to be high with wheat. Because the field was bare, they were readily spotted as they emerged from the tunnel and the kibbutzniks were spared a horrifying experience. That is a modern day blessing of “shemittah” observance.

What a blessing. Hallelujah.

Shabbat shalom.   

RS                                                                                                                               

Torah Portion for 3 May - 9 May, 2015

Leviticus 21:3 to 24:23

Each week there are lessons, reminders, encouragements and even chastisements. Almighty God, in His love, wisdom and grace, speaks to each person according to ones relationship with Him.

It would be a worry if one received NOTHING from the reading of His Word !!  If the reading were mechanical, even legalistic.

Leviticus 23 contains the well-known declaration of the “mo’edim”, the “appointed times” of the Lord. Within our churches today they are often perceived as ‘Jewish Festivals’, consigned to antiquity, even obsolete.

But Almighty God called them “MY FEASTS” in Leviticus 23:2. They are described as being ‘a statute forever throughout your generations’. They are festivals observed by Yeshua, by the disciples in the early church, by Paul. No-where in the Scriptures are they superseded by any other festival.

In effect, God was saying to the people “these are the times when I will be there, I want you to come and meet with me”. Once every week on Shabbat, then another seven times in the year for a stated number of days.

These Holy (set apart) Festivals were prophetically significant in the life, death and resurrection of Yeshua (Passover), as well as the giving of the Torah on Mt Sinai and the coming of the Holy Spirit (Pentecost). Many also see that the next set of festivals (Trumpets, Day of Atonement and Tabernacles) are prophetic of the return to this earth of Yeshua.

However, in Leviticus 23:22, we have a strange looking verse which appears to have nothing at all to do with these “appointed times”. They are a repetition of the commandment in Leviticus 19:9,10. This activity of “gleaning” reminds us of Ruth, the Moabitess, a gentile who joined herself to the people of God.

In terms of timing, sitting as it does between those festivals already completed in Yeshua, and those which speak of His future return, is it possible that this verse, referring to ‘the poor and the stranger’ is talking about the time of the gentiles? Which when completed will herald the return of Yeshua?

There is, of course, a more simple explanation. That God is here reminding us all of an obligation we have as believers in Him to extend our hand to those in need.

Did you know that a principal reason for tithing was the caring for the :-

“Levite, because he has no portion nor inheritance with you, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow who are within your gates, may come and eat (freely) and be satisfied, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hand, which you do.” Deut 14:29

So then, it appears that this act of caring for those in need is part and parcel of what God intended, He commanded it. IF that is an ”appointed activity”, consider carefully how best to respond.                         

Shalom and Blessings

RS